makervef.blogg.se - Eyewitness disintegration syndrome

There may be some, very limited improvement, but this is seen in a minority of cases. Loss of skills often reaches a plateau by around age 10.

Epilepsy may require anti-epileptic medication.

There is a significant risk of neuroleptic malignant syndrome with the use of neuroleptic medication.

Other antipsychotics, stimulants and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are sometimes used in expert hands to help in the control of problematic behaviour, particularly aggression.

However, there is little evidence of specific efficacy in CDD.

Risperidone may be effective in improving behavioural symptoms in PDD.

Environmental therapies such as sensory enrichment.

Behavioural therapies, such as applied behaviour analysis, which aim to teach the child to relearn language, self-care and social skills systematically.

Therapy is given, as with autism, tailored to the child's disabilities, needs and educational objectives. Electroencephalogram (EEG), MRI or CT scan are likely to be used to ensure an alternative diagnosis has not been missed. These are normally carried out during initial assessment in secondary care. Tests to exclude reversible underlying causes of the condition:

Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE).

Other rare metabolic/neurodegenerative conditions - eg, glycogen storage disorders.

Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease/new variant CJD.

Other specific conditions which need to be ruled out are:

The differential diagnosis incudes any of the other pervasive developmental disorders, eg autistic spectrum disorder, Rett's Syndrome, pervasive developmental disorder - not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), or causes of general learning disability. Some children describe or seem to be reacting to hallucinations.There may be social and emotional problems, such as a child previously happy to be cuddled becoming averse to physical contact.They would eventually stop talking altogether or retain only fragments of their former speech. A typical presentation would be of a child who is able to communicate in two- or three-word phrases losing this ability.Usually parents and professionals have not previously noticed abnormalities in terms of language and non-verbal communication, social relationships, play, adaptive behaviour or emotional development.It can be severe enough that children are aware themselves of the regression, and may ask what is happening to them.The change occurs usually between the ages of 3 to 4 years, but generally before the age of 10 years. The child presents after at least two years of apparently normal development. Presentation SymptomsĪffected children show clinically significant losses of earlier acquired skills in at least two of the following:Ībnormal function also occurs in at least two of: EpidemiologyĬDD is extremely rare with an incidence of 1.7 in 100,000 children. Some consider the condition to be a childhood dementia, suggesting that brain deposition of amyloid is the cause of the condition, but no clear-cut pathophysiology is proven. The condition can seem to develop in days or develop over time, and most commonly begins in the fourth year of life, although there is some variation. CDD occurs in children who have had previously normal development who then appear to regress, sometimes rapidly.